Pulling Back the Veil
by inky.pinky.106
Summary: Legolas' turn has come at last, but as he waits with his mysterious guide they talk about life...


**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the people or places, because this is a FANFIC, although the ideas are fairly original, I hope.

This is a slight continuation from Angels Never Cry, but its not terribly similar (And not very good either).

I'd like to thank everybody who reviewed my previous LOTR Fic, thanks for your support and suggestions.

Just for you** anticipationnation**, yes, Merry and Pippin did die before Aragorn, but I overlooked that fact completely by accident. Thanks for making me sit and take notice, though!

I'd like to apologise to anyone who read and enjoyed my last LOTR fic and was expecting something good...sorry...(sheepish grin)

Pulling Back the Veil.

"So, you've come for me at last?"

"I should not need to come for you at all."

"This was unexpected?"

"Let us say...unscheduled."

Legolas watched as the figure towering over him bent to sit beside him, laying down its heavy staff carefully before settling.

"Have I long?"

"Long enough."

"For what?"

"For whatever you want. Impatience is fruitless, the end will come in its own time and when it does, you will be unable to change your mind."

"I have never wanted to change my mind less."

"Indeed..you have waited a long time for this."

"You have no idea how long."

"Not precisely, no, but I believe it to be somewhere around three thousand years."

Legolas laughed mirthlessly. "Close enough." There followed a thoughtful silence in which the Elf closed his eyes in pain and allowed his head to drop back against the wall behind him.

"You never appreciated your immortality." The figure's mournful, penetrating voice roused him from his silent contemplation.

"There was no reason to. I always knew what it would entail. I knew befriending mortals was a trial no Elf could endure, but I thought myself above that."

"You always were a little foolhardy."

Legolas nodded in agreement. "But the friendships were unavoidable."

"Perhaps."

"You don't agree?"

"I did not say that."

"You didn't have to. The hidden facets to your speech tell me much."

A small chuckle drifted from beneath the deep cowl covering the figure's head. "I have forgotten much about Elves, it would seem. You are a very perceptive people."

"You have taken other Elves?"

"Of course. Some had relinquished their immortality before death to mortals they loved, but others were like you. They were scared of the endless stretch of life facing them and ended it themselves...but you had more reason to be frightened than most, I deem."

"Because I am the last of a people who are fading into myth and legend?"

"Because you were left behind, clinging to memories that could not be brought back to life. You could not leave the stagnant thoughts of your dead friends and so you allowed the remaining members of your people to leave without you. In the end you finished with nothing."

"What good would there have been in my leaving? No matter where I went, the ghosts of the mortals would have followed me. What help would the rest of my people have been?"

"If you had gone with them, you would not now be huddled against a wall dying."

"Then I am glad I stayed."

"Do you really mean that, I wonder?" Murmured the figure.

"Of course I do!" Replied Legolas angrily, beginning to rise but falling back with a gasp of pain, his face paling visibly as he gasped for breath.

"Your time grows short."

"I...know...I can feel..." His tortured expression was mingled with a look of bemusement. The figure nodded.

"Yes, it is one last gift you have been granted. Never before have you felt the chill of a harsh wind, or the golden warmth of summer sunshine. But now, at the end, you can feel seeping cold, such as only the deepest of winters bring."

"...Why...?"

"It is the same experience for everyone that passes through the veil. Elf, Dwarf or Man, all are equal at the end."

"The veil...I am finally pulling back the veil..."

"And I am here to lead you through." Legolas gazed hazily at the figure, but it shook its head and, raising a gloved hand, pointed to the Elf's other side. Turning, he was faced with a vision he though never to see again.

"...Aragorn..."

"I am here teacher."

And indeed he was, standing tall and proud as he had done the day he had taken the crown of Gondor. His hair was not the silvered white it had been when he had died, but was once again a deep chestnut, glinting in a late ray of sunshine. He smiled gently at his old friend and held out a hand. Legolas reached forward feebly and felt one last jolt of pain as his fingers touched Aragorn's, but within a moment it was gone, replaced by a new feeling of invigorating warmth and youth. Grinning, he rose to his feet and followed his old student through an avenue of trees he had not noticed before, a golden light drifting through the trunks where before there had been only dim autumn sunshine. At last, there was one thing that a mortal could teach an Elf-how to follow The Path.

Behind them, the cloaked figure rose from the ground and retrieved its staff, meticulously dusting its clothing where it had gathered dirt and dry leaves.

"Well," it muttered, "that was unscheduled."

Hit the R&R folks! Er...please...?


End file.
